2. Definition of Corrections
Corrections refers to the great number of
programs, services, facilities and organizations
responsible for the management of people
accused or convicted of criminal offenses.
3. Corrections Statistics
•In 2008, 3.2% (7.2 million men and women) of
U.S. adults were under correctional supervision
•1 in every 100 American adults are in prison or
jail
•Highest percentage of prisoners in the world
•Costs $60 billion a year
4. A Brief History
•Prior to 1800, Americans were physically
punished (flogging, branding, death)
•During Enlightenment U.S. changes policies so
punishments fit the crime
•Penitentiary is created to punish and reform
criminals
5. The Pennsylvania System
•Reform group was led by the Quakers
•Used separate confinement – 1 inmate per cell
•Used to prevent further corruption
•Help prisoners reflect on their mistakes
•Punishment through isolation from society
•Short stays in prison because prisoners would repent
quickly
•System failed when overcrowding increased
6. The New York System
•Started in Auburn, NY under Warden Elam Lynds
•Used a congregate system – prisons worked
together during the day but spent nights alone in
their cell
•Inmates wore “prison stripes”
•Forbidden to speak with other inmates
•Contract Labor System – inmates worked to produce
goods
•System became popular and spread throughout the
United States
7. Prisons in the South and West
•States of the South and West lacked the
necessary funds to build prisons
•Began the lease system – inmates worked for
contractors who paid for their food and labor
•Ended in 1887, when Congress prohibited
prisoners from working for private companies
8. Corrections in the U.S. Today
•Correctional programs/facilities are overseen by
all of the following:
•Federal government
•State government
•District of Columbia
•Counties
•Cities
9. Federal Corrections
•Overseen by Federal Bureau of Prisons – created by
Congress in 1930
•Houses 195,000 inmates and employs over 30,000
people
•Divided into security levels – 1 (least secure) to 5
(maximum security)
•Office of the U.S. Courts oversees probation and
parole
10. State Corrections
•Organization varies by state, but:
•Executive branch oversees the prison system
within the state
•Judicial branch oversees probation and parole
•Facilities include: maximum, medium and
minimum security prisons, halfway houses,
prison farms and forestry camps
11. Jails vs. Prisons
•Prisons are state or federal institutions that hold
offenders who are sentenced for longer than one
year
•Jails are local facilities that hold people awaiting
trial and sentenced misdemeanants
•Lockups, or Drunk Tanks, can hold people for up
to 48 hours
